"An essential source of information and analysis about what is happening in Iran. The site covers the critical issues of nuclear weapons, internal politics, regional threats and international perspectives.I go to the site everyday."Jerome R. Corsi

"Your daily source of news and views on what's happening on the next frontier of the fight for freedom."Chrenkoff

"This site serves as the doorway into Iran. By reading it daily, anyone can understand the situation in this critical front in the War on Terror."Ryan Mauro

"Regime Change Iran is swiftly becoming our top source for [Iran] news, and Gary's cooperation with us on humanitarian issues has been a great help."Joe Katzman, Winds of Change.NET

"You know, if you aren't reading Regime Change Iran on at least a semi-regular basis, you're missing out not only on one of the best blogs out there, but one of the most important."Dean Esmay, Dean's World

Saturday, April 02, 2005

Today, millions of Iranians celebrated the traditional yearly "Sizdeh Bedar" marking the end of Persian New Year celebration which started on March 20th. Crowds gathered from the late hours of morning in Tehran and in most provincial cities' parks or green areas organizing immense picnics. Many more had already traveled out of cities a few days ago and celebrated this tradition in camp grounds or rural areas by returning to nature which is the purpose of this Persian event.

Many were seen breaking Islamic taboos and the regime's forced "moral code" by dancing or chanting. Some sporadic clashes have been reported from several areas of the capital such as Manzarieh, Darband, and Park Mellat, as militiamen tried to arrest groups of young Iranians seen dancing or girls taking off their mandatory veils.

More important clashes have been reported from some northern and western cities such as Rasht, Babolsar, Saghez, Marivan, and Hamedan. READ MORE

Freedom fighters used the occasion of these gatherings, just as they have done in recent years, in order to shout slogans against the Islamic regime and its leadership which considers all Traditional Persian events as "pagan legacy".

The impact of the historical popular attachment to some of the traditional Persian events, such as Nowrooz, Tchahrshanbe Souri, and Sizdeh Bedar, is to the level that neither the Arab invaders of Iran nor the Islamist clerics have been able to force Iranians to abandon their beliefs throughout the last fourteen centuries. Recently, the regime has had to adapt itself to some aspects of these beliefs and contend with controlling them.

Even religious student groups such as the "Daftar e Tahkim Vahdat" (Daneshguah va Hoze) - Office of Consolidation Unity of Universities and Howze (Islamic schools) - which was until few years ago backing the clerics' or Islamist technocrats' anti-Iranian goals, is trying to adapt itself and had issued a communique asking for mass celebration this year. It's not necessary to say that millions of Iranians and thousands of students are seeing, in the shift of OCU's policy, another desperate try to stay on course and to claim ownership of what was happening every year as well as what will happen this year with or without its consent.

The group which is based on a kind of more 'moderate' Islamist ideology is well known for having actively tried to deviate Iranian students' struggle and to promote Khatami's corrupt gang and sham reforms. Even the imprisonment of some of its members and figure heads, due to power problems within regime's factions, were not able to stop its increasing unpopularity among lucid Iranians and students.

The increasing general negative feeling has been boosted as, recently, some of OCU heads' names have appeared under a controversial project named national call for referendum. This unpopular project which has been presented by some ofthe 'former' theoreticians or founders of the Islamic regime's repressive militia, such as Mohsen Sazgara, is in reality another desperate try for a take over of the well-known legitimate aspiration of millions of Iranians for a genuine referendum in Iran on the choice of their future secular political frame.

Sazgara and some abroad based political opportunists are trying to build a false legitimacy for this project by trying to make believe that Iranian Students are endorsing their call.

Some abroad based radio commentators who are also capitalizing on the OCU and Mohsen Sazgara have caused anger among many listeners as they tried, in their program yesterday, to make beleive that what was going to happen today, at the occasion of Sizdeh Bedar, will be due to the OCU's call. The radio commentator and one of his colleagues are also known for some of their destructive roles by trying to surf, for their own agenda, the wave of student protests and trying to deviate it from its natural course and legitimate aspiration by promoting specific small groups among the Iranian student body composed of more than a million and half members.

Resulting from this action, was not only that the "regime was not over on last July 9th" but also, few students and Iranians are listening to such programs after such noticeable tries to take over the students' and popular waves.